Realm of Darkness
The ' Realm of Darkness' is a realm made up of Darkness in people in every world. As with the Realm of Light, this realm has a Keyblade, Kingdom Key D, which chose King Mickey as its wielder. Kingdom Hearts is found here. This is also the home of all the Heartless, as this is where the most powerful ones can be found. Sora fought Ansem, Seeker of Darkness here in Kingdom Hearts. Sora, Donald, and Goofy visit the Realm of Darkness after being saved from Saïx by Maleficent in Hollow Bastion, where they encounter a man in a black coat, later revealed to be Riku. Riku leaves a box with a picture of Hayner, Pence, Olette, and Roxas and a bar of sea-salt ice cream. In this same realm, the Keyblade reacts to the ice-cream and Sora opens a pathway. This is the first time that Sora, Donald, and Goofy are able to make their way to the Realm of Darkness in Kingdom Hearts II. Recent studies from the Society have shown that the Realm of Darkness is also the home of Demons, and can pretty much be considered to be Hell itself. Settings and Areas 'Inner Areas' In A fragmentary passage, the Realm of Darkness is explored further, though nothing notable is shown. The different areas are given names like Middle Zone and Lower Zone, and each feature domes of darkness which sprout different kinds of Heartless which will vanish once all the Heartless have been defeated. Some of these domes form pillars which allow the player to advance through the world. A final, arena-like setting is where the battle between Aqua and the Unnamed Heartless takes place. Further reports from the Society shows that if one would venture deeper into the Realm of Darkness they would discover a very hellish landscape. The place is contorted and twisted, the laws of time and space barely apply here. There is said to be grim mockeies of human, (and possible other sentient races) achievments throughout the various locations within the realm. The most promiment locations are the areas of the Realm where the Seven Lord of Hell reside, or areas belonging to a specific Demon Clan. Dark Margin The Dark Margin (referred to by Tetsuya Nomura as the Dark Coastline) is a mysterious place in Kingdom Hearts. It is first seen in Another Side, Another Story... (Deep Dive) video. In Kingdom Hearts II and In Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Roxas converses with Xemnas at the Dark Margin. He talks to Roxas, telling him how much he looks like Sora. It reappears in the end of Kingdom Hearts II. After defeating Xemnas, Riku and Sora end up on the Dark Margin. Suddenly, after Sora reads a letter from Kairi, a door appears leading them to Destiny Islands. According to Another Report, Nomura states that the Dark Margin is "the tip of a world", i.e. the boundary between Darkness and In Between. Sora and Riku were on the coast of the side of In Between, and were looking over the sea in the Realm of Darkness. Having said this, the Door to Light which appeared in the ending scene is reminiscent of a quote which recurs in the Kingdom Hearts series, albeit in different words: "No matter how deep the Darkness, a light shines within." Volcanic Margin Ifritus Capital Bald Mountain Every 13 years, this massive black pillar of rock rises from it's jagged valley resting place, to rise from the ground of a random mortal world. This giant rock is the lair of the powerful demon lord Chernobog. Whenever Bald Mountain arises, Chernabog calls forth the souls of the damned from any nearby town, and uses them to power the chaotic rituals he performs on Walpurgis Night. Only the sound of Church Bells, and the rising sun can drive Chernabog and his minions back to Hell. The Underworld Many worlds prefer to refer to the "bad place" as the Underworld. Still, it can be consider Hell. But in the Realm of Darkness, which is essentially Hell itself, there is such a location known as the Underworld. But contraty to more widespread beliefs, the Underworld isn't really a massive network of caves, and caverns, but infact a giant cloud! A cloud hundred times the size of new york. And a cloud made entirely of stone. From the inside, it appears to be one big cave system, but once you break through the walls, you soon learn otherwise. The Underworld has the unique ability to attract mortal souls from the material universe. These souls can go anywhere, but most end up in the river Styx, which eventually pours into the Realm of Darkness, where the souls are at the mercy of Demons. Hades the Monstrous rules here, and he has modified the Underworld in order to attract the souls of deceased superheroes, mostly Marvel Heroes. The Shadow Islands This black and green rocks that float in the skies above the Realm of Darkness, are the home of "Friends". This is were shadow demons reside, and the departed souls of evil Houngan (Voodoo Priest). The laws of gravity don't apply here, and even a light from a flame won't shine. Only the green Voodoo fires gave off illumination. Twisted trees grow all over the place, and blacky slimey moss covers most of the floating rocks. At the center of the Islands, is a giant floating island, with a massive pit of green fire at the center. This massive flame acts as a gateway between the Shadow Islands, the Material Universe. The Forest of Sin This gloomy wasteland is covered by strange trees with sickly green leaves, white bark, and eerie fruit with human faces screaming in pain. These are the trees of Sin, and the fruit they grow are known as Sin Fruit, made from pure human sin. The trees are grown from sinful human souls that have been transformed into seeds, and planted by demons. Demons love the taste of Sin Fruit. Mina's Palace This massive Courthouse is the lair of the powerful Demon Lord Mina. This is where she condems souls to her cruel, and unjust punishments for both her, and her audience's pleasure. The palace is large enough for Mina to walk through, and to house more than ten armies of demons. This also the place where Mina's servants call home. There are many, many torture chambers built below, or above the palace, connected by long chains of brass, covered in spikes. Tartarus Athens This place is model after the Greek city of Athens, except it's on fire, in ruin, and there's screaming dead people everywhere. The City is constantly shifting, and changing appearances. At the center of the city is a mountain made from the corpses of the dead. At the top of the mountain is a staircase that leads to the Underworld. This mountain can be best thought up as a false Olympus. Daemon City This place resembles La Cite des Cloches except it's on fire, and there are piles of corpses everywhere, and the canals are filled with molten metal. Twisted Nightlands A grotesque and disturbing region that defies anything logical. The place can best be described as a desolate wasteland, with crooked towers made of black rock everywhere, bushes of thorns, holes for horrific creatures, trees with the damned impale on them, a large city of shadow, and a burning pit that can anyone to anywhere in the Realm. Sometimes human heads, which are normally set ablazed, can be found upside down, hanging from a rope. A tribe of ghastly-looking demons make this place there home, where they cook humans over fire pits, alive. Hideous bees with human-like heads make their nest here, and anyone stung by a swarm of them will explode and miniature versions of them will come out, and most of them will be devoured by winged humanoids with massive mouths. The landscape is twisted, and you never know if your running on a road, a tree, a pillar, or the head of a massive demon. A strange species of snake-like demon lives here, who use the bodies of beautiful woman as their home, which they can also animate and control. Mortal's psyches can enter this place through their sleep, and dieing in this place, means dieing in real life. Entering this area is often by accident of magical dreamers, or people who abuse "psychadelic" inducing drugs. Burning Dubai The Frozen Drop The Scrap Ocean Hive Manor This Himalaya-sized, insect-hive encrusted mansion is the lair of the Lord of Hell, Beelzebub, Lord of Gluttony and Pain. The Sea of Darkness This is the land of the powerful Lord of Hell, Leviathan, Lord of Envy and Destruction. Story ''A fragmentary passage'' While wandering lost through the Realm of Darkness, Aqua is confronted by a Darkside. She prepares to fight it, but two more Darksides join the fight and she loses hope. However, she is rescued by the Earthshaker and Wayward Wind Keyblades, which make quick work of the Darksides and renew her hope. She looks at her Wayfinder and remembers all the friends she has made throughout her journey across the worlds. Smiling, Aqua vows to escape the Realm of Darkness. But as she moves onwards, a crack of light forms in the Realm's ceiling and a beam of darkness fires through it. Aqua's Wayfinder stops glowing and she senses something is wrong. Aqua ventures deeper in the Realm of Darkness and comes across some enemies she has never encountered before. As residents of the Realm of Darkness, these enemies prove to be stronger than the Unversed, but Aqua manages to fight her way through them until she reaches the leader. After a lengthy battle, with Aqua barely keeping up with the creature's speed and stealth tactics, Aqua finally emerges victorious and defeats her enemy. Venturing forward, Aqua stumbles across the Castle of Dreams jutting out of a sea of darkness in the distance. ''Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days'' Six days after Roxas's induction into Organization XIII, Roxas visits Xemnas on the Dark Margin, where they briefly talk before Xemnas takes his leave. ''Kingdom Hearts II'' In order to save them from Saïx, Maleficent transports Sora, Donald and Goofy to the Realm of Darkness, where Riku, his face hidden, leaves them a sea-salt ice cream bar and a photo of Roxas in Twilight Town as clues to get to The World That Never Was, rescue Kairi and destroy Organization XIII. Following the defeat of Xemnas, Sora and Riku end up on the coastline and sit in front of the water for a while before a portal to the Realm of Light leads them back to Destiny Islands. ''Blank Points'' Eventually, Aqua finds Ansem the Wise sitting on the coast of the side of darkness, having been sent there by the explosion of the Kingdom Hearts Encoder instead of being killed as previously believed, though he is slowly losing his memories again. Aqua and Ansem have a conversation about the worlds and how Ansem came to know Sora. This leads Aqua to shed tears of hope and say Sora's name, knowing that he will save her and her friends. Corridors of Darkness Corridors of Darkness are unpredictable pathways that interlink the worlds of the Kingdom Hearts universe. The Heartless use these extensively to reach other worlds, as do members of Organization XIII, their subordinate Nobodies, and many other characters. These pathways are formed out of Darkness, so it is unsafe for a normal person to travel them, because the constant use of these corridors would corrupt one's heart. However, the Heartless, the Nobodies, and the Princesses of Heart don't have to worry about this, since the Heartless already have corrupted hearts, the Nobodies do not have hearts to corrupt, and the Princesses of Heart have hearts made out of pure light. An example of the Princesses of Heart's immunity would be, when Axel was kidnapping Kairi, he took her through a Corridor of Darkness. Kairi was wearing normal clothes, yet she wasn't affected by the Darkness, as her heart was made out of pure light. One upside to the Darkness in the Corridors is that it provides a faster means of travel than the Gummi Ships. Other characters who have used these corridors include Sora, Donald Duck, Goofy, King Mickey, Kairi, Riku, Naminé, DiZ, and even Pluto. Of these, only Riku, Naminé and DiZ have been responsible for summoning the portals, and only Heartless, Nobodies, and Princesses of Heart aren't affected, with two noted exceptions; according to Nomura in the Director's Secret Report XIII, Riku and Mickey aren't affected by darkness at all, due to some "secret similarities". Ironically, in the first Kingdom Hearts, after the face-off in Neverland, Riku's heart was significantly weakened as he carelessly used a Corridor of Darkness to return to Hollow Bastion. Nomura goes further to state that DiZ and the Beast can successfully use the Corridors of Darkness, and perhaps open them, due to their particularly strong feelings. Furthermore, despite Sora having used the Corridors of Darkness several times before, he has not used them frequently enough to allow the Darkness to stain his heart. The influential power of Darkness depends on the strength of a person's heart. Maleficent is also believed to travel the Corridors, though she does not show the physical changes. This could be due to her trying to command the Darkness, instead of becoming one with it. It is also known that Pete travels the Corridors as well. He is known to be protected from the Darkness by Maleficent's magic. The black coats worn by Riku, King Mickey, and Organization XIII are said to protect wearers from the effects of darkness, and from detection by those who use darkness. Thus, those who wear these coats can traverse Corridors of Darkness without suffering the negative effects. The Keyblade Armor worn by Terra, Ventus, Aqua, Master Eraqus, and Master Xehanort functions in the same way as the black coats. Inhabitants *Chernabog - *Demons *The Damned Image Gallery dogsheaven-disneyscreencaps.com-6213.jpg|Hell Road fantasia-disneyscreencaps.com-3124.jpg|Volcanic Margin hunchback-disneyscreencaps.com-6349.jpg|Daemon Cite' sleeping-disneyscreencaps.com-6055.jpg|Maleficent's Goblins performing in the Yami no Eien Matsuri Underworld.jpg|The Underworld sleeping-disneyscreencaps.com-1035.jpg|Forbidden Mountains 1000px-Iceraaladdin4232.jpg|Ifritus Capital 1000px-TartarusPrison.jpg|Tartarus Prison Category:Location